Computer Repairs & Solutions

Review: I took my laptop in to be fixed or cleaned the fan because the fan was acting up. It was not fixed and was broken by the person that owns the business [redacted], he bent the HDMI metal on the side where the HDMI cord goes into and also broke a piece off that goes somewhere in the inside of the laptop. It no longer works and the laptop is broken. He is also not a certified technician to fix computers apparently. He shouldn't be operating a computer business without being a certified technician to fix computers.Desired Settlement: I think he should pay for it to be fixed properly or replace the laptop and he should not be running a business without being a certified technician.

Business

Response:

Here is the response:

"Computer Repairs & Solutions received this laptop that was overheating. I'm buying a replacement motherboard to resolve the problem since I don't have the time or money to invest in a long term small claims court case over this issue. The customer left an online Google review stating I can't fix computers. This is my 1st Revdex.com complaint in 11 years of operation. I can understand their frustration but to claim I can't fix electronics is an opinion not factual.

The cooling fan was still functioning. The problem was the fan vent was clogged with dust a lot. A laptop can't keep itself cool with that much blockage. Not enough airflow even with a working fan. The laptop itself generated a startup message indicating the fan should be replaced. The fan speed looked good. The problem was the vent cooling system blockage. Electronics and overheating don't get along. The increased heat stresses out circuits, capacitors, video chips, processor area, and even the hard drive too. Over time it can kill components. I don't know how long this heat problem was taking place beforehand before they brought it in.

In initial testing, I had the HP Envy dv6 laptop on a little bit (1-2 hours) and shouldn't have. Since I could feel the fan working, I didn't think this would be a problem. Otherwise after that , I took out laptop screws from the bottom, removed the keyboard, and top cover. Then I removed the motherboard, and flipped it over. The fan was separated from the board and cleaned of all the dust. I reattached the fan and started reassembling. There was nothing new in my work here that I haven't performed lots and lots of times before (I've done the same thing 3 times last 2 weeks). Before assembling it fully, I did a test boot. There was no video on the screen and the laptop only had a blinking light on the caps lock and num lock keys (5 blinks - a pause - 5 blinks etc). The blinking lights is the HP laptop giving a hardware error code. The motherboard did get power but only generated the hardware status error code. Upon looking up on HP's Web site, it pointed toward a motherboard problem. During this process, no events took place like accidentally dropping the motherboard, or dropping something on it. If something is broken, I know if I 100% caused it and why. In this situation, no work I did should have caused the blinking lights issue. There have been times in years past where something didn't go right and it was my fault. I have paid for parts in all those occasions and told the customer what happened and took care of it no problem. For this HP Envy dv6, if I damaged the motherboard, it would be dead dead just power and a black screen. Nothing. The blinking lights indicated the motherboard was trying to boot and power up. The motherboard generated the blinking lights. No laptop has had blinking lights for something I damaged. I contacted the customer and explained the situation with the blinking lights and other HP users had this happen to them. It can be searched online. I attempted all the ways HP said to try to get rid of the blinking lights. Since I was working on the laptop and this was the 1st time the customer had work done with my company, it was my fault and I had damaged something to cause it. I could have another company examine the motherboard and analyze the reason why it's not functioning but that would be more time and money I would have to invest too.

While spending additional time trying to get the laptop working, 2 small pieces broke off the motherboard. This happened AFTER it stopped working with the blinking lights. It didn't change anything.

1) The power button cable latch on the motherboard that you raise up/down broke when I raised it up. This is a fragile piece on these laptops. I will only raise it one time only in the future. If you continue to raise it up/down really the plastic will easily break. The latch is what holds the power button cable in tight otherwise you have to hold the cable in with your fingers. I didn't put too much pressure to cause it to break off. My fault for using too many times.

2) The CMOS battery port on the motherboard loosened and broke off. I shouldn't have been unplugging, replugging the cable in over and over again. All the battery does it keep the time and is not a critical hardware piece. I could have had a person re-solder the port back on but since the motherboard wasn't working anyways prior to then it was pointless. Not sure if the overheating could have caused this port to loosen up. I noticed when I was plugging in the battery cable before it was obviously coming detached from the motherboard.

I took a picture of the inside of the laptop due to the customer eating and possibly drinking while using the computer. There was food crumbs and a sticky residue on the back of the keyboard. If the liquid is acidic, it can harm electronic components. Let's say if the food or liquid remains got onto the motherboard, the overheating of the laptop can interact with that stuff. In my opinion, this was not the reason why it had a problem.

After the customer got the laptop back, I was informed of a bent section on the left side of the laptop case by the HDMI port. It's the plastic on the laptop case itself. I have bent it back into place. Nothing was broken it was a little bit outward. I think a small plastic tab caught onto the motherboard when sliding it in. That caused the little bend. I didn't see or notice it.

I don't know how bad the laptop was operating just prior to being brought over. It seemed hard to boot up when it was brought in but it was the HP system fan message alert that was the major deal. How long has this laptop been running hot? The cooling van gets majorly clogged over a long period of time not a month etc.

Summary: Either it was an accident on my part without any intent/knowledge or it was a laptop failure caused by heat stress. I've been in business 11 years and computers I work on don't just stop working in the middle of the project. The blinking lights issue indicates the motherboard is attempting to function. If a computer is not working, I know why I'm 100% at fault if I did something. This project I didn't know how/why. I don't know how severe it was acting up before being dropped off. I'm replacing the motherboard and getting it over with so I can focus on other work than to spend additional time/money cause it's not worth it. Other jobs I've had no problems fixing. I'm not having problems with any other projects just this one.

Computer Repairs & Solutions